"General, sir", the lieutenant said, "our ground based radars seem unaffected by the jamming signal. They are detecting many smaller craft entering the atmosphere!"

"Understood, for now let's assume they indeed have hostile intentions. Relay this information worldwide!"

"Yes sir. ..Eh, sir? There are at least a hundred incoming small craft, all in close proximity to each other, they are currently heading this way, ETA is fifteen minutes."

"Understood. Lieutenant, show the projected path on screen," the general remains calm and focused.

Only seconds later we see many small red dots, close together, above the North Pacific Ocean, 2000 miles northwest of Hawaii. A red line on the map shows the current projected path, from San Francisco, California to Orlando, Florida if they were to continue the same course above land. 

"Sir, projected path now on screen. They will be entering the atmosphere above the North Pacific, on a direct heading for San Francisco."

At this time, the President is finally able to join the meeting online, appearing on a monitor. He was also still using the landline on speaker as a backup.  

"Mr. President, can you see the map?"

"Yes, general. What are our options?"

"Sir, we have to assume that those are hostile, the jamming signal remains strong. I believe this is the perfect scenario for Operation Sea Knife."

"Operation Sea Knife?" I asked, looking confused.

"We are not as defenseless as you might think, Ayanna," the general said with a big smile on his face.

"You've got to be kidding me. Alright, there is no choice. We need to do this while we still can, so I will approve this. Give me a second to initiate the order," the president said.

"Yes sir."

"What are we talking about, general?" I said, really worried that they may be thinking about deploying doomsday weapons. 

"Sorry, no time. Let's just say that we are going to give those bastards a warm welcome."

I nodded while grimacing. I think I know where this is going, but this is not my call. 

"Mr president, I confirm your approval, we are executing the order immediately."

"Lieutenant, send a priority one message to the closest sub on that trajectory, and order them to launch a Trident loaded with a W88 at those coordinates. Stand by to detonate at my command."

"Yes, sir!"

"Sergeant, close the blast door!" The general ordered a total lockdown of the base to prepare for the worst possible scenario.

"Yes sir." Then an alarm sounded for a few seconds, all through the mountain complex, "To all personnel. Now entering base lock-down. This is not a drill. Report to your stations immediately. Prepare for EMP." 

"General, how were you able to contact the submarine now that all satellite communications are down?" I asked, only now realizing that this should be impossible.

"While you were again eating some cookies over there, I checked with the lieutenant. Seems that our VHF-AM frequencies are unaffected by the jamming signal. We can relay our orders to the closest base and have them contact the sub for us." 

Then my comm.device beeped. I checked the message and was terrified when it said "link to database lost."

"Oh my goddess, NOOO!!!!" I shouted.

 

 

We now switch to the perspective of the nuclear missile submarine SSN Atlanta, currently 100 miles north of Honolulu.

"Captain! Priority one signal from COMSUBLANT. Orders are to immediately launch a Trident-W88 at the following coordinates."

"Verify launch code!" Captain Daijena said, while quickly focusing on the message screen.

"Message and launch code are valid, sir."

"Captain confirms validity as well," the captain said.

"All stations, CONN. Prepare for an immediate SLBM launch."

"Confirm that we are at launch depth."

"Ay sir, confirmed, we are now at launch depth."

"Ready the weapon and prepare to launch."

"Ay Sir. Missile, CONN, prepare Trident W88 for immediate launch."

"CONN, Missile, commencing reload one."

"CONN, Missile, reload completed on launch number one."

Within twenty seconds the ship was ready to launch its deadly payload. 

"Captain, Acknowledge coordinates and launch-code."

Then the captain and the XO both enter their launch codes and the terminal lights up green.  

"Captain, missile armed. Launch on your command."

"Missile, CONN, launch number one."

At this time a loud noise can be heard from within the submarine. The weapon is launched towards the surface, then ignites its propulsion system and starts heading towards its destination: the upper atmosphere.

"CONN, Missile, weapon launch confirmed."

"All stations, CONN. Secure stations for imminent EMP backlash."

 

 

And now we return to Cheyenne Mountain Complex, where Ayanna is trying to understand what is happening.

"No, no, no..This can't be. I lost connection to my ship. No....Taegen!" I shout his name and fall to my knees, crying. The tension is just too much for me. All these years of military service, and even being trained by actual aliens...nothing could have prepared me for these feelings. I miss him!

Nobody comes to comfort me, they leave me here, all alone, crying like the miserable wreck that I am.

"Mr President, we have a confirmed Trident launch. ETA two minutes to the enemy cluster," the general said.

"Understood. Proceed at your discretion."

"Yes sir."

Then the lieutenant panics. "General, sir! We are tracking one huge incoming object at high velocity. It is heading right this way!"

"Intercept at all cost!" the general shouts.

But then we all feel the result of an enormous impact. This feels like a magnitude 5 earthquake or even worse. The whole base is affected. The coffee mug the general had left on the desk falls down to the floor and breaks into several pieces. Some staff are repositioning their monitors while I watch dust coming down from the ceiling. 

"Sir, unable to comply. Whatever it was, it crashed fifty miles from here."

I know what crashed near us. That must be the Arbella, or what is left of it. My crying was only interrupted by the lieutenant's update.
"Sir! We are seeing bright flashes in the sky, but these are coming from the other side, from behind the moon!"

I stand up and dry my eyes on my uniform, because who cares anymore, and I too see one flash. Finally! Those must be our reinforcements! Then the fireworks reappeared all over the view screen.

"General, missile is approaching optimum position, request detonation"

I could only blink my eyes in wonder, why would they detonate it now?

"Confirm, confirm, confirm." 

"Yes sir, detonation confirmed." 

At that moment, the visual images on the view screens went white. We lost the telemetry for one screen, the other showed a nuclear detonation at high altitude. An enormous mushroom shaped fireball appeared in the night sky. The image is so terrifying that I can't watch.   

"Don't worry, we are shielded from the blast and EM here," the general said.

Great, but what about the people in that region? I thought, not wanting to interrupt the communications here. 

After half a minute, the general ordered a status update.

"General, detonation appears successful. Most craft are burning up on re-entry in the atmosphere. However, the remaining objects are changing course."

"Bastards. What is their new heading?"

"Approximately twenty craft are now heading for Seattle, another dozen are heading for Anchorage."

"Launch all F35s on hot standby in that region, and relay our radar images to them."

"Copy that sir."

I could hear the lieutenant relaying the orders to the responsible people.
Then the view screen showed no more flashes, no static, no fireworks at all anymore. Then we saw many, many particles burning up when entering Earth's atmosphere. 

"Sir, the jamming signal is gone. Satellite communications are slowly returning. Expecting normal operations through backups in minutes." 

"Copy that."

 

I looked at the general, "please, we must see what crashed. See who they are. They might need our help!"

"There is nothing we can do for now, the mountain is in lock-down mode. I will order a reckon of the area and send images here. I want you to identify whatever it is. If they are yours, we will send help. If they are something else, we will bomb them to high heaven, do you understand?"

I blinked my eyes, confused at his assertive reply. "Yes, general."

"Sir, I confirm the deployment of all F35s from hot-standby on the west coast," the lieutenant said.

"What is the enemy's ETA?"

"ETA for the US coast line is three minutes sir."

"Sir! Our F35s confirm radar contact with targets. Requesting authorization to launch AIM-120s"

"Confirm, confirm, confirm, weapons free!" 

"Sir, we are patched into the nearest F35's comms." 

"On speaker."

F35 pilot 1: "At Angels Ten. Eleven bogies at two miles, high. Fox three. Damn, those are fast! No joy on target."

F35 pilot 2: "Yihaa! Splash one!"

F35 pilot 3: "I can't shake this one. <beep beep beep beep> Noooo! Ejecting!"

F35 pilot 1: "Base, confirming all splashes except one. One hostile out of range, heading for land. Requesting birds to target."

The pilot is requesting ground based SAM launches, but is informed that the target is now flying low above inhabited areas. 

SAR teams are now being dispatched to retrieve the pilots who had to eject, while the other F35 pilots are returning to base after a very short but also very intense dogfight.

"General, radar tracking stations report all clear except one target. Five F18s have been dispatched along its projected course."

Only one red blip remains on the view screen, moving inland fast. Then multiple blue blips are approaching the target from multiple vectors, firing their missiles. Then....the red blip is no more.

"General, we have visual confirmation that the last target has been destroyed."

All the staff in this room start cheering, finally being able to release some of the tension.

"My god, that was one slippery bastard!" The general took a deep breath. Finally able to release the tension. But only for a moment.

A few minutes later the lieutenant gave us another update.
"Sir, we have reports on the internet from witnesses in the Seattle Space Needle. Target has crashed into an apartment complex close to that location. Apaches and a Blackhawk are en route to contain the situation and provide emergency medical care on site."

I look around in the room, nobody is talking. People are waiting for orders, but all seems clear. Is it over? I took a deep breath.

"General, we have incoming messages from other countries. It seems that some hostiles had entered the atmosphere from another vector. All countries confirm threat eliminated. Minimal damage to buildings, mostly frightened citizens." 

"Looks like luck was on our side today," the general said, looking relieved.

"General, do we have images of whatever is in orbit?" I said. 

"Not yet Ayanna, there are no targets above the atmosphere visible on radar. There is no communication, nothing. But our eyes in the sky should be able to provide images soon. For now, we can only wait."